It is “no secret” that Aston Martin wants to re-sign Fernando Alonso for the 2025 season, if not longer, but Mike Crack admits first the Spaniard must decide if he wants to continue in Formula 1.
At 42, Alonso is the oldest driver on the Formula 1 grid, but shows no sign of slowing down with his passion for the sport reignited after last year's stunning season with Aston Martin, which he joined from the Alps.
Mike Crack has decided to 'keep' Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin
After achieving eight podium finishes, three of which were second places, he finished the season in fourth place in the Drivers' Championship, representing his best performance since his second place finish with Ferrari a decade earlier.
However, he admits today that he has not yet decided whether he wants to continue in Formula 1 for another year or even longer.
Aston Martin team boss Crack says it is “no secret” that his driver is discussing his future amid rumors he could take Lewis Hamilton's soon-to-be vacant seat at Mercedes. However, Krak is determined to stick with his star driver.
“It's no secret that he first wants to decide for himself what he wants to do. And I think it's also no secret that I always say that we want to continue working with Fernando.
“I also said that the most important thing is that we give him a fast car, so that he believes in this project, believes in this team, and everything else that we will discuss over the coming weeks.
“Now, obviously a driver of his caliber is attractive to everyone, that's clear, but we will try to keep him.”
But for Krack, Alonso's ability on the track is more than just the ability behind his desire to re-sign the double world champion.
“Not only is what he brings in terms of driving talent and racing skill that we don't have to discuss, but he brings these additions to the team,” he said.
“Leading, pushing and motivating everyone, leading by example from first thing in the morning until late at night. It's perfect.
“That's something that hits the whole team, and that's something you want to maintain.”
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However, if Alonso chooses to leave Formula or join another team next season, Crack was asked if he would be interested in signing Max Verstappen.
“As far as I know, Max has a contract,” he said.
But when pressed if he didn't do a deal with Red Bull, Crack said: “If you said yes, you would say 'what if Lewis is available?' or 'what if he's available?' No, let's keep our feet on the ground step by step.”
As for his team, Alonso has made it clear that Aston Martin is his “first priority” but only after he has made the decision on whether he wants to continue or not.
“First of all, I need to decide for myself what I want to do for the future,” he said when asked what he would like to do next season.
“If I wanted to dedicate my life again for a few more years to this sport that I love.
He added: “This is a decision I have to make for myself. I need to think and I need to commit to a team at the end of the day, and make sure I understand that in the next few years of my life, this will be the team 100 percent.” Of my time.”
But after saying Aston Martin was his “number one priority”, he added: “If we can't reach an agreement and I want to commit to racing in Formula 1, I know I have a privileged position.”
“Maybe I'm attractive to other teams, because of the performance they saw last year, the commitment and, as I said, there are only three world champions on the grid. And there's only one available.
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